Alignment is a key element for running form efficiency and injury prevention. When you are aligned a higher level of relaxation is possible. These are the two primary concepts in ChiRunning® – Alignment and Relaxation and the balance between them. The more you are aligned, the less you need your muscles. The less you use your muscles, the easier it is to stay aligned. But too much alignment without relaxation and you may be too stiff to move. Or too much relaxation without alignment and you may be too loose to maintain your position.

At the beginning of the ChiRunning book one of my favorite concepts is introduced: “Your biography becomes your biology” [1]. We all have a biography that shapes our present moment, both physically and mentally. The good news is that “with a little patience and perseverance” we have the ability to add new choices and habits to our biography, providing far-reaching benefits to our health, fitness and well-being.

I was a very active kid and enjoyed a lot of different sports and activities. But as a teenager, running was one activity I did not enjoy. It was only a necessary means of Read the rest of this entry »

If you have been practicing ChiRunning or ChiWalking for awhile, you may have started to notice the mental benefits of focus and using visualizations. I tend to find myself in a ‘zone’ more and more often. I tend to have answers and realizations pop into my head often when out running or walking.

Recently I was out on a run and the concept that ‘Everything is Energy’ popped into my head. This has been the subtitle to my blog since the beginning. When you get right down to it, everything is simply energy rearranged differently. For some reason on this day I was reminded of it. I started to think about this concept as I was running along a single track trail. I decided to consider everything around me, including the air, was Read the rest of this entry »

- Continue running with a primary emphasis on health goals and not time goals.
– Continue to run happy, healthy, injury-free, and empowered with the tools to help me stay that way.
– Deepen my [ChiRunning] ‘practice’ by working on my breath, my relaxation level and my speed (indirectly via technique, not directly via more effort).
– Again run on average 35 or more miles per week.
– Participate in a Marathon, at least one 50K Ultra, a 50M Ultra (likely the JFK 50 again), and possibly a 100K ultra; all depending on my schedule.
– If a suitable Marathon fits the schedule, qualify for Boston (3:20:59 needed). The NJ Marathon in early May is a target, but a fall Marathon is also a possibility. I would also like to experience NYC if I can get through the lottery.

Another key to this running motion is a Relaxed Midfoot Strike. Running with a relaxed midfoot (full-foot) strike allows a subtle forward lean (fall) from the ankles with no resistance. It also removes a significant amount of stress from the lower legs and feet. The statistics indicate that 65-80% of all runners get injured every year in some way. And most of those injuries are at the knee and below. Could it be that we are asking a relatively small part of our body to Read the rest of this entry »

Looking for a true gift, one to give or receive? There may be no gift more valuable than a few simple ideas for lifelong health.

“The first wealth is health.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Most people are passionate about sharing ideas about healthy living. An important piece of the healthy living puzzle is fitness; also simply called ‘motion’. We are all designed for motion; our health depends on it. The challenge is getting moving and staying moving through repetitive motions that can sometimes result in Read the rest of this entry »